Disqualified Combination CE00891-4 IT Skills (Blended Learning Version).

An integrated suite of software packages, such as Microsoft Office.
Case Tools - SELECT SSADM, Together ControlCenter 6.0

50% Semester 1 and 50% Semester 2
Consisting of a portfolio assessing Learning Outcomes 1- 6
The portfolio (a phased series of tasks) will comprise a set of practical exercises utilising spreadsheets to resolve problems based on a case study (2000 words max) and a series of practical exercises requiring the design and implementation of a database to resolve problems based on a case study. (4000 words max.)

1 hour-long seminar session in small groups of up to 10 students and 1 hour of laboratory work in groups of up to 20 per week is advised. However, the precise delivery mechanism for this module is left flexible with each centre choosing a method suitable for the students involved. Two weeks in each teaching block (usually weeks 5 and 10) are used for Personal Development Planning and Personal Tutoring instead of academic work. Wherever it is studied, it is anticipated that independent study will play a major role and that some part of the module will be used to assist students in the development of skills which will help with this.
It is anticipated that broad coverage of the indicative content will be achieved through seminar sessions, which will include individual and group activities, discussions and case study analysis. The seminar sessions also provide an opportunity for students to seek and for tutors to provide formative feedback.
Students will gain re-enforcement of academic learning through the guided practical sessions.
Independent study will involve directed reading in order to gain and extend knowledge in areas of the indicative content not covered in depth by the classroom teaching. (1:20)3

Background Reading
Foundation Maths, 2nd Edition, Anthony Croft, Robert Davison,2006 ISBN 13: 9780131979215 Publisher: Pearson Education Limited
Principles of Financial Accounting, 3/e by Gillespie 2004
ISBN-13: 9780273676300 Publisher: Financial Times Press
Modern System Analysis and Design, 4th Edition, Valacich, J, Prentice Hall, (2004), ISBN: 0131273914

SEMESTER 1 (50%)
Basic Mathematics
Numbers and Number Systems: arithmetical operations, fractions and decimals, percentages and ratios, powers and indices, binary, octal and hexadecimal systems.

Introduction to Spreadsheets
Financial arithmetic: compound interest, net present value.Algebra: linear equations and functions, quadratic equations and functions, graph plotting.Statistics: different types of data, extracting information from data, presentation of data using charts and diagrams, mean, mode, median, standard deviation, uses and abuses of statistics.
Probability: definition, laws of probability, tree diagrams, expectation, discrete probability distributions.
Business modelling and decision support using spreadsheets.

SEMESTER 2 (50%)
Systems Analysis and Design
What constitutes a system? The history of systems development, the reasons for system failure.
The traditional systems development lifecycle.

Introduction to Database Systems
Data and Information

Introduction to structured methods
Requirements capture
Process Modelling
Data Modelling
Event modelling
Use of CASE tools

Implementation of a prototype
A DBMS to implement basic queries forms and reports to meet user required specification.